A PUB boss is begging punters to save his business after he helped snare a knife thug who stabbed a man in his bar.

Alex McConville, 49, says The Caledonia Bar is on the verge of collapse as drinkers stay-away amid claims of violence and drugs.

He has blasted “lies” and “rumours” which have dogged his business ever since 24-year-old Andrew McCann, 24, plunged a blade into a reveller three times.

The publican says time and money is now running out for the boozer, which has had its reputation damaged by the drama.

Alex told the Paisley Daily Express : “I’m a clean-living, hard-working guy, I’ve spent 20 years in the pub trade and I’ve a good reputation and everybody here knows me.

“Staff in other pubs having been telling customers not to come because there are people taking drugs on tables, or there’s always bother, but it’s all rubbish.

“It’s completely unfair on my staff, whose jobs are at risk here.

“We’ve had no problems in the pub since the stabbing, but we’ve been hit by these ridiculous Chinese whispers.”

Alex says the ordeal has driven his bar to the brink of closure and says every penny he owns has been invested in the venture.

He insists his pub is “safe” and claims his state-of-the-art camera system has been praised by police as “best in the town” and was instrumental in snaring the yob.

Alex added: “What happened in the pub was terrible, but it could have happened anywhere in the town. That boy came out that night with the intention of causing harm, and it’s unfair to blame what happened on the bar.

“I know the police were only doing their job, but appearing in cars and vans every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, taking names and asking questions of punters after the stabbing, that’s hurt us.”

Alex transformed a run-down spot on Caledonia Street into his sports bar earlier this year.

The site of the former The Golden Gloves pub had lain empty for a decade, but it was brought back to life after a £60,000 refurbishment.

The owner hoped to open a kitchen and beer garden – creating 10 more jobs – but his plans hit the skids as his savings dwindled and customers shunned the Caledonia Bar following the attack.

He added: “I should be taking bookings for Christmas lunches now, but I’ve not even been able to pay for the kitchen because the money isn’t coming in.

“We’d been expecting to do a really good trade by now, but these lies have scared custom away.

“The frustrating thing is, we’ve had the guys from Police Scotland CID tell us how the other pubs could take a lesson on how to run a bar from us.

“They say our CCTV is the best in Paisley by a distance and that they wouldn’t have caught the boy without it.”

Earlier this month, McCann, of Fairway Avenue, Paisley, was jailed for four years and four months for the frenzied onslaught on Brian Gallagher, 20.

The brute was originally charged with attempted murder, but his plea of guilty to a reduced charge was accepted by the prosecution.

McCann was caught on camera, identified by many of the witnesses in the pub and his jacket had spots of blood matching the victim’s DNA.

Jailing McCann, judge Lord Burns told him: “You clearly had violence on your mind when you went out that night. The blows you inflicted could have killed that man.”